The Monastery of St Ana (St Anna) is located about 2 km uphill from the village Maloviste. The height difference is about 250 m.
There is a marked trail going to the Monastery of St Ana. This actually is a horse-riding trail, probably the remains of a attempt to make Maloviste attractive as an eco-tourism village. In 2012 the trail was well marked with wooden signs.
To get to the beginning of the trail, follow the road uphill from the Church of St Petka in Malovishte.
A sign next to the church states:
“The cathedral temple dedicated to the protector of the dead, St Petka. It was erected in 1856 on the foundations of an older church, which is believed to date back to the 16th or 17th century. The church, a testimony to the skill of the master craftsmen of the time, captivates with its architecture. Its interior is dominated by the iconostasis of 1892, covering a space of 100 square meter, which was executed in the technique of deep woodcarving by master craftsmen Dimitrij […] A true cultural and spiritual treasure rests in this temple’s permanent gallery of icons, where about a hundred icons are exhibited in a chronological sequence covering a period of about four hundred years.” The iconostasis is made out of walnut tree.”
The Church of St Petka was closed, but after we asked around in the village for the person with the key of the church a friendly old women came with us to open the church. You can try your best Macedonian and ask for “Kluc od Crkvata?”, pronounced as “Klutsj od Serkvata”. Unfortunately it was not possible to see the Icon Gallery. Apparently this can only be opened by a church official who probably is never around…
There is a large information sign at the beginning of the horse riding trail. It says:
(1) The trail begins at the western part of the village, at the last houses of Malovishta, among the Vlach locals called “la ketra” which means “near the stones”, i.e. where are left piles of stones fallen from oldest houses
(2) After riding near the last houses, trail continues though abandoned meadows along the creek.
(3) The entire route of the trail is marked with many signposts.
(4) The creek has to be crossed at marked place near the Monastery.
(5) The last section goes through beech forest, after a short uphill.
(6) Arriving to Monastery is near the great fountain with clear and very cold mountain water.
(7) From dormitories you have to continue with riding for about 500 meters to the west and reach the church St Anna
(8) Returning to the village takes place after a narrow forest path, surrounded by tall beech trees
(9) Tour ends as you cross the stone bridge and enter the village.”
We did not do the full circle of this trail, but walked uphill via the narrow forest path mentioned at (8) on the sign. To do so, walk straight on after the information panel and cross the wooden bridge on your left. Walk uphill until you reach the main trail and go right (west). It took us about 30 minutes to reach the monastery.
The Monastery of St Ana was closed when we arrived there. We actually did not visit the Church of St Ana that belongs to the monastery, because we were not aware of it at the time. It is located close to the monastery, see the map below.
Be careful with the “clear and very cold water” of the fountain as it was the most likely cause of our persistent diarrhea the days after our visit to the Monastery.
For sightseeing this is a nice walk with a nice old village and interesting churches, from the hiking perspective it’s a 3 out of 5 star walk.
We went back the same way, and the GPS track of our walk can be viewed and downloaded here: https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/maloviste-to-st-ana-monastery-7546692
My Macedonia Blog 